Kevin Durant made his choice to team up with Kyrie Irving when both became free agents the following summer at this location during All-Star Weekend 2019. Four years later, a new cooperation in the same field was announced, this time with optimism for a better result. In the meantime, if you are looking for those sweet sports betting casinos of March 2023, make sure you visit our pages!
Durant made his debut for the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday night, and in a 105-91 victory against the Charlotte Hornets to end their five-game winning streak, he displayed early indications of the potential for the lethal one-two punch he may build with Devin Booker.
Durant scored 23 points in just 27 minutes, and his jump shot looked unrusty despite being out since January 8 due to a right MCL injury he sustained while playing for the Brooklyn Nets.
“I feel like I fit in pretty well, everybody out there was trying to make me as comfortable as possible. I just got to keep grinding, man, and this jersey on me will look normal as games go on,” Durant said after the game. For top bonuses check 18bet out!
The playmaking partnership between Durant and Booker had the largest impact.
The kind of wing-scoring combo that the Durant deal was all about was created by Booker and Durant while they were on the court together, as Booker had a great overall game with 37 points, six rebounds, and seven assists.
“This is one of those moments that doesn’t really feel real, I mean, it’s just every time he shoots the ball, it’s just so effortless. You can see defenders trying their hardest to contest or fight over a screen and he just looks unbothered, unfazed,” Booker commented on his teammate.
But when Booker and Durant were split up, the Suns’ strategy with them became clear.
In both halves, Durant played stretches with four bench players, and both times the score decreased as he nailed a string of his signature midrange shots from close to double-digit Phoenix leads. He finished the game with 10-of-15 shots.
Because the Suns never trailed and Durant finished with a plus-13 plus/minus, second-best on the team, those streaks practically made it a stress-free victory.
It was Booker who was going to work while Durant, who played four six-minute stints and then the final three minutes as part of a minutes limit, was sitting down. Booker made 15 of 26 shots while working off Chris Paul, who as usual had 11 assists.
The team’s true potential can be released once the minute limit is lifted and Durant’s minutes climb alongside Booker’s, at least that seems to be coach Monty Williams’ intention.
The game on Wednesday night wasn’t flawless, though. Only Deandre Ayton, the only other player in double digits for the Suns with 16 points, raised concerns about the probable top-heavy nature of their scoring.
Paul, who has had trouble hitting shots this season, had another difficult night, going 1-of-8. Josh Okogie scored just four points despite maintaining his starting position and averaging 18.5 points after receiving a bigger role as a result of the Kevin Durant trade.
The Suns also suggested that having three players who are skilled at midrange shots would make it difficult at times to get to the foul line. The Hornets, who were without star LaMelo Ball because of a fractured ankle earlier this week, forced an additional 13 free throws.
With 26 points, Kelly Oubre Jr. led Charlotte but only made 9 of 24 shots overall as the Suns limited the Hornets to 36% shooting.
Yet, the Durant rollout was successful because of a well-thought-out strategy that included extra practice and conditioning time as well as a matchup with one of the league’s lesser teams. Durant yet admitted to a bit of anxiety.
